A Good Old Fashion Duel: Old Old Spice Guy vs New Old Spice Guy Fabio

I have had a hectic week (updates to come), but I HAD to write and let you all know that one of my favorite campaigns is BACCCCCKKK!!!!!

If you aren't aware that this has been happening you need to check it out.  The Old Old Spice Guy Isiah Mustafa and New Old Spice Guy Fabio are engaged in an epic battle right now.  They're challenging each other to Mad Libs, reply to questions posed by fans on Facebook and Twitter, and overall just one-upping each other with their ridiculously witty banter.   You can even vote on which guy you like better (is that even a question?!).  Head on over and check it out!!! Highly entertaining.

VOTE FOR ISIAH!!! You know I did...I hope this blog gets me a shoutout from Old Old Spice Guy. It would make my 29th year oh, so complete.

Wo_ds _ _th F_ _en_ds

Morning Folks! Here's another post that has been sitting in the reserves for over a month waiting to be published:

Last October my good friend Martin came to visit, and he unleashed a hidden monster: The Words With Friends Beast.  For those unfamiliar with the game it is basically a Scrabble application that you play on your device against friends and strangers. The game is addicting.  At first only the elite a.k.a. Apple  users had access to The Precious Words.  However,  the Droid owner can now play  You better believe that my Droid friends jumped on the bandwagon as soon as they had the opportunity. I think my opponents doubled when the game became available to them. Over the last few months I have witnessed a growing number of people playing the game in public: on the bus, El, standing in line, even during a conversation with yours truly.  It is everywhere.

This is not a game played by me.

Let me explain why I believe Words With Friends (WWF) is one of the best apps out there: you play your friends (or strangers that become your friends over time), there's trash talking, you need a strong grasp of the English language- which means it makes you smarter, it brings out your competitive side,   it's portable, and you can play 24 hours a day.  If you want to play a friend in person you can use the  pass and play option.  Did I mention it's free?  YES!!! There are also paid versions without ads.

The popularity of Words is growing by the day as I see more and more Facebook statuses reading, "My words with friends name is ________"  followed by replies with their friend's user name.  Other users are updating their status  with a high playing word.  Don't think I didn't share with the world about my 90-point "enslaved." It needed and deserved recognition!! 

In my opinion, Words is one of the best games out there, because it stimulates your mind and grows your vocabulary.  They should make a kiddie and/or classroom version for children who don't like spelling or reading.  I bet it would yield positive results.  Call  me Words With Friends--I am full of ideas!!

Lastly, people, please don't cheat.  Recently I found one of my real-life friend opponents (who shall not be named) cheating.  They had pulled up a list of words that were high-scoring 2,3,4-5, 6, 7-letter words.  When my sister and I told them they were cheating they replied they were merely "studying."  In their eyes they weren't cheating because they weren't using it in the actual game. I think it's cheating, because their intent was to learn a word (and not it's meaning I might add!) just to score points in the game!!  What do you think????

And, now for the information you have been waiting for: my user name is Gloface Killah. 

Game On.

Better late than never?

Ugh. I feel like I have been trying to update the blog forever.  This draft has been sitting in the edits since the day after the Super Bowl.  I figure it has some good stuff in it so why not post it for the world....better late than never right? (It's in blue.)

I survived the Snowtorious B.I.G. aka Snopocalypse-Windy City edition aka Snowmaggedon 2011.  It was quite an interesting week filled with snow, wind, idiots stranded on LSD (that's Lake Shore Drive to all you non-Chicagoians) and of course the wonder that is THUNDER SNOW.  I was one of the lucky that did not lose power, heat, or even sleep over the blizzard. I attended a snow bunny party in my building and watched the flakes fly.  Of course Rex decided that he would not use his wee wee pad, and I took him out at 9:30 pm during the peak of the 70mph winds.  We were only out there for approximately 90 seconds.

Anyway, Super Bowl Sunday just passed.  I am so sad that my Steelers did not defeat my arch enemy the Green Bay Wackers....oh I "meant" Packers.  Anyway, as a participant in the most watched television show ever I will give my obligatory Super Bowl winner and losers wrap up.

Winner: Clearly Chrysler.  I loved the "We are Detroit" theme. I thought it was intense, and the Eminem voice over coupled with his song "The Moment" was a nice touch.  The ad fought back against the criticism that Detroit is wasting away into a ghetto; that it is a scab and scar America would be better without.  Instead this ad showed what Detroit people are proud of, they will not give up, and they will rise again.  In my classes we question are the ads clear, motivating, and distinct? If yes, you have a great ad.  This ad was all three.  I am quite sure I wasn't the only soul who felt compelled to buy American again. 

Losers:  I have two choices.

The American public as we were also forced to endure limitless sub-par commercials. WHAT HAPPENED TO BEING CREATIVE?! It's the Super Bowl for goodness sake. Do not pound out your usual work!!!!!!!!!!!!  I also felt there were too many movie previews.  Boo.

Coke.  What happened to making sense? They were all over the board, with the soldiers on opposite sides of battle putting their differences aside to share a Coke and then re-drawing lines in the sand.  What about the fantasy world that just left me scratching my head and thinking yet ANOTHER horrible Coke ad.  I say this from a place of love.  I love the products. Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Cherry Coke, Coke Zero=Mad Media Maven YUM. One of my favorite commercials of all time is a Coke commercial "Cake Mix, Wheat Bread, Coca Cola, Shaving Cream."  I REMEMBER the list years later!!!!!! I beg you Coke. Fire your creatives and hire me. This showing was for the second year in a row abysmal.  It was unclear, unmotivated, and indistinct. FAIL.

We all know that Groupon did a bad job.

Anyway-this semester is way busier than I thought it would be.  The weeks seem to fly by.  I am learning a ton at my internship.  The job hunt is......going.   Hoping to land the job soon.  Still pursuing lots of leads. 

Tonight is Chicago's much hyped mayoral election. Should be interesting to watch.  Ciao!

Da Mayer

As your music-loving media maven I feel it is my duty to introduce you to some of my wonderful musician friends.  Oddly, the two I plan to feature first are friends in the same hip hop crew.  I believe in these men and their music, and I think you could too.


First up: Mayer Hawthorne

Me, Karla, Mayer

I have to say I am sort of a music snob.  If you discuss music with me, than you discover my general disdain for today's R & B genre.  To say I think it is terrible (with the exception of Neo-Soul) is an understatement.  The quality of the material within the songs and the lyrics has decreased exponentially, and the artists themselves cannot sing.  When people ask me why I feel this way I explain that I grew up listening to my parents music: Motown, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder etc.   I wish that quality of music would revive itself.  Generally those that disagree with my stance on today's R & B concede that the music of our parents generation is unquestionably better.  Fortunately, there are now a group of artists that have focused on soul, and one of them happens to be Karla's (my sister) close friend!

Yesterday Drew was in the New York Times, and needless to say we were beside ourselves with excitement.  If you are  unfamiliar with Mayer Hawtorne here is a taste of loveliness that your ears have been begging for.  Maybe So Maybe No,  is my favorite song.  The video is pretty sweet and I have to give Henry DiMaio some major credit for standing out above the pack:

North Coast Music Festival 9/5/10

You know when you listen to a CD that you love over and over, and finally see the band live and it is beyond disappointing? I hate that!  It leads one to feel they have been tricked by the sound engineer.  Well, I am happy to say you will NOT have this problem when you see Mayer Hawthorne.  Seriously.  I can say this with authority, because I have had the opportunity to see Mayer Hawthorne live three times within the last six months.  I have also seen them in a variety of venues: in a large theater with awful acoustics, at the North Coast Music Festival, and in an intimate club setting.  They rocked it every time, and I was never disappointed.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  Each time their show has gotten better and better.  The show is a fusion of hip hop, classic soul, and a little funk.  It is also a fun dance party guaranteed to have you leave with a smile on your face.

 One of my favorite aspects of the show is the eclectic crowd.  In a city as segregated as Chicago it is rare to see the races, ages, hipsters, hip hop heads interact.  Mayer Hawthorne is one of the rare catlysts that bring these groups together-that in itself should explain the magic of these performances.  

Finally, I would like to add Strange Arrangement is one of those CD's that you can listen to straight through on repeat.  Yes, it is in the ranks of "Nevermind" "College Dropout" "Rage Against the Machine" "Off the Wall" "Reasonable Doubt" "Are You Experienced?" and "Midnight Marauders." I'm sure you're thinking "Yeah, right you're just saying that because you know the dude."  To that I say: if you remotely like or love any of the aforementioned albums I implore you to check out Strange Arrangement.  It would behoove you to give it a try.  Trust me your ears and soul will dance.

I (was) Loving it

I kind of feel bad for McDonald's.  They face what appears to be a constant stream of scrutiny of their products.  In an attempt to diffuse the negative press they have introduced healthy alternatives on their menu.  However, their critics will not be silenced.  Peep the lastest ad from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine called Consequences: 

 As a self-proclaimed cheeseburger addict the ad scared the quarterpounders out of me!!!  The creative team did an excellent job: choosing a corpse that looks like someone you could encounter on the street.  Seeing his wife's distress over her husbands death is appropriate for the scenario.  Then you see the kicker: a half-eaten cheeseburger clutched in his hand.  That  is when the message hits home.  We all know burgers are not the best food for us, but we still eat them.  We know that eating McDonald's is horrible, but the fast food industry makes millions of dollars each year.   We are a culture that consistently chooses our temporary personal desires over long-term effects.  This ad puts the consequences (ha! Great name for the ad!) of those actions into perspective.   Overall, I think the ad has the potential to have a great impact on consumers.  I know that I am grateful for it, and I will reconsider eating fast food the next time I have the urge.

Another Old Spice W(in)

Finally back in Chicago!!   Kanye was right when he described Summer Time Chi--it truly is The Good Life. In other news, I have some solid options that could flourish into major career changes.  I'm pretty excited and cannot wait to see how everything pans out!!! I will be sure to keep you posted as I navigate the transition into my next stage of life.

Now that I have finished updating you on my world, I would like to officially congratulate my crush Isaiah Mustafa-The Old Spice Guy.  Last night Old Spice Body Wash received a Creative Arts Emmy for Best Commercial- "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like."  Is it a surprise that the Old Spice guy received this award? Not at all.  There has never been a campaign that combined social and traditional media in real time, found a voice (literally and figuratively) that millions could identify with, and produced a new pop culture phenomenon. 

Here's another look at the award-winning spot, (and Isiah)that started their groundbreaking campaign:

I Love You NFL

The NFL Ticketexchange ad shown during tonight's pre-season game between the Baltimore Ravens and Carolina Panthers was fantastic.  I was wondering, "how will Ticketmaster feel about this loss of revenue?"  Well, for those who also thought the same thing they won't!  The NFL Ticketexchange site is powered by Ticketmaster. Regardless, I see a huge success in the near future!

Another great spot was their "we're all winners now" (because the season hasn't started) commercial. The piece showed individuals running through their homes with various team flags in preparation for Game Day.  It got me cheering and I felt a surge of excitement (that only football can cause) when I saw THE CHICAGO BEARS FLAG on the screen.

As a female football fan the NFL and ESPN never cease to amaze me with how well they understand their target.  Their humor is on point, and they pump you up to watch the game. BRAVO!